Poroshenko Won’t Leave? No Inauguration Date Set and Transition Process Has Stalled Completely!

In Ukraine, they're not rushing to give power to President-elect Zelensky. Poroshenko and his tame Verkhovnaya Rada still haven't announced the inauguration date. The suspense here is that if he assumes office before May 27th, he could dissolve this Rada. If he assumes office later, he'll have to live with this hostile parliament composition for six more months.

In Ukraine, they're not rushing to give power to President-elect Zelensky. Poroshenko and his tame Verkhovnaya Rada still haven't announced the inauguration date. The suspense here is that if he assumes office before May 27th, he could dissolve this Rada. If he assumes office later, he'll have to live with this hostile parliament composition for six more months. It means that none of his initiatives would pass through the legislators. It's still not yet clear what kind of power landscape there will be in the fall.

Poroshenko is spending his final days in power granting new posts in the army, law enforcement, and judiciary, leaving his people in key positions. Besides, Poroshenko is promoting colonels to generals on a massive scale, in dozens, and giving away decorations. For example, the head of the SBU suddenly became a Hero of Ukraine. Zelensky insists that the inauguration be conducted on May 19th and even made an urgent, sarcastic address on television.

 

Vladimir Zelensky: "It reminds me of a tourist in a hotel in Egypt. He'll be home tomorrow, his things are packed, the room has been cleaned. A normal, cultivated person would wait for the transfer to the airport. Poroshenko wouldn't. He just can't stop. He's stealing towels and slippers, and taking all of the food he can from the buffet. I'm begging you! Hand in the key, pay for the minibar and go! You need time to pass customs and passport control. That's why I'm addressing the Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine. At the next meeting, you must schedule the inauguration for May 19th".

There's a curious situation with dissident churches in Ukraine. The former Patriarch Filaret of the former Kiev Patriarchy wants to restore both his patriarchy and his position by initiating a new schism of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine, or OCU, newly-formed under the leadership of the Istanbul Patriarch and headed by Epiphanius. Epiphanius and Filaret are like a cat and a dog. They haven't even led a service together since the foundation of the new church. Filaret seems to have understood that Poroshenko tricked him, and is now dividing the OCU, summoning the bishops to have a brotherly conversation. Why would they need Istanbul, anyway?

Oligarch Kolomoisky gave a new interview, still in his exile in Israel. There's an interesting spot there, indicating that he feels that he's already in power: he already says "we." For example, when speaking about the structure of the president elect's future administration.

"If Zelensky personally doesn't need to line his pockets, it doesn't mean that those surrounding him don't. That's why there are some risks. They'll start lining their pockets. They'll start to want to line their pockets, believing that their time has come. But, believe me, we won't let anyone do anything".

Have you heard this "we"? He's quite confident saying this.